The Federal Law "On Amendments to the Merchant Shipping Code of the Russian Federation" came into force on 30 June 2011.
The amended document was adopted by the State Duma on 3 June 2011 and approved by the Federation Council on June 8, 2011.
The law is aimed at bringing the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter - the Code) in accordance with the requirements of the Russian administrative reform and the international conventions in merchant shipping, as well as eliminating some gaps and inaccuracies.
In order to bring the Code into conformity with international laws the Federal law was supplemented, inter alia, with a new chapter "The Responsibility For Damage Caused By Bunker Oil Pollution", which contains the rules that reflect the basic provisions of the Bunkers Convention.
The relevant articles of the Code reflect the provisions of the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships.
The Code provisions were also brought into line with the Labor Code and Criminal Procedures Code of the Russian Federation.